Your best bet for doing well in this course is to attend all of the lectures and do all of the assigned reading before class. Reading the text will provide a different perspective on the topics covered in the lectures. Don't expect to do well by putting things off and cramming for tests. Don't get behind! If you are having trouble with the material get help immediately.
There is an accompanying lab that is necessary for this course to count towards your core requirements. A separate grade is given for the lab.
Follow this link http://www.fiu.edu/~baraue/teaching/1020/homework.html
to the online homework.
You can find your current grades here http://www.fiu.edu/~baraue/teaching/1020/grades.html
(updated 12/19).
Class notes
Notes from the first three lectures are available online.
Lecture 1: p1, p2,
p3, p4
Lecture 2: p1, p2,
p3, p4
Lecture 3: See these websites for information on the physics of hurricanes
University
of Illinois Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences
National Hurricane Center
Florida
Times Union Hurricane Page
National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration
Lecture 4: p1, p2,
p3
Textbook
"Physics Matters" by James Trefil and and Robert M. Hazen.
Instructor
Brian A Raue Office: CP 217
Office Hours: MW 9:00-10:30, TTh 3:00-4:30, or by appointment
Phone: 305-348-3958
E-mail: baraue@sarah.fiu.edu
Lectures
Monday & Wednesday 2:00-3:15 in CP 101
Exams
There will be two midterm exams plus a final. The tenative exam
schedule is given below. The exams are closed book. Calculators will be
necessary. There are no makeup exams unless there was an extreme
emergency or if you have contracted me prior to the test with a legitimate
reason for missing it. All exams are multiple choice. The material to be
covered will be announced in class and is also shown in the online homework
and quiz page.
--Exam 1: Wednesday October 6
--Exam 2: Wednesday November 3
--Final: Wednesday December 15 at 12:30
Homework
20% of your grade will be determined by weekly online homework. You can
get to the homework through the links on the main class webpage. Each problem
set has only about 8-12 questions so you should be able to finish in less
than two or three hours. Some questions are taken directly from the questions
and problems section at the end of each chapter so looking these over before
you start the online homework should give you a head start. There will be
about 120 questions total for the semester but the average will be based
on about 100 points: You could score a 120% for the quiz grade!
--Once the due time has passed you won't be able to submit answers and
makeups will not be given.
Grades
A letter grade will be assigned only at the end of the semester but I will
attempt to give you an idea of approximately where you are throughout
the semester. The grading system is based on the scale below although each
of the exams may have an appropriate "curve". The top three points in each
grade range will receive a "plus". Minuses are used only if I feel there
is sufficient cause to raise a grade to the next letter (e.g. a C+ to a B-).
A: 87.5-100%
B: 75-87.5%
C: 62.5-75%
D: 50-62.5%
The relative weighting is as follows:
Homework: 20% (cumulative)
Midterm Exams: 25% each
Final Exam: 30%
There will also be several chances to gain bonus points throughout the
semester.
Cheating
Cheating is considered a very serious offense and offenders
will be dealt with very harshly. The minimum penalty for cheating
on an exam will be a zero on the exam with the possibility of automatic failure
for the course or a recommendation of expulsion from the university.
